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The law that was offered last year was unconstitutional, in that it would destroy our state waterways which belong to ALL WISCONSIN CITIZENS, not to corporations, not to individuals. Scott Manley is just asking for lawsuits. That's his choice, I guess, but it is pretty shortsighted.

What, pray tell, is the beneficiation plan for the Wisconsin ore, and what is the plan for the tailings? Can you provide, or have you even seen the assay data on the waste stream? If not, you can't make a definitive statement on what any extractive operation will do. I was involved with the process stream for a major gold mining operation in Nevada that generated a ton of waste sulphur each week and a metric ton of by-product mercury each day. Ooops! Talk about unintended consequences! Another operation generated radioactive cinnabar, or mercuric oxide. Do you want to roast the cinnabar to remove the oxides and liberate the gamma radiation? Maybe you could set up that purifying process in downtown Sun Prairie!

A higher environmental risk type in mining is sulfide ore (copper, zinc, silver, etc) mining. This type of ore reacts with air once it is pulled from the ground and releases acids. The acid by-products can contaminate the ground water if necessary precautions are not observed.

Mining in open pits is mostly done with large powerful shovels and trucks. Shovels at taconite mines are used to dig surface overburden as well as iron ore and waste rock. Rotary drills with 12- to 17 1⁄2-inch bits are used to create holes about 16 inches in diameter to a depth of 45 to 55 feet into the taconite ore for explosives to be placed for blasting activities. The commonly used blasting agent is a mixture of ammonium nitrate fertilizer and fuel oil (called ANFO), which is pumped into the holes. The quantity of taconite broken by individual blasts usually ranges from about 0.4 to 1.5 million tons. Trucks then transport the crude iron ore to the primary or coarse crushers. In some mining operations, trains are used to haul ore to the crushers (EPA, 2001; EPA, 1994; McKetta, 1988).

About 40 percent of the feed is rejected as tailings, which are re-ground to extract as much iron as possible. Cleaners and finishers then work on ore particles in the range of 48 mesh and less than 100 mesh, respectively. Tailings from these two stages are sometimes re-ground or discharged to the tailing basin (EPA, 2001; EPA 1994).2.1.2.3 FlotationThe iron-bearing slurry flows into a hydraulic concentrator where excess water is removed through gravity separation. Sediment collected at the bottom of the concentrator is passed on to the chemical flotation unit (see Figure 2-3). In the flotation process, three types of additives are used to upgrade the iron ore concentrates by removing residual gangue (silica) from the iron-bearing slurry: frothers, collectors/amines, and anifoams. Frothers enable the formation of stable air bubbles in the aerated tank. Collectors and amines enhance silica-bearing particles to adhere to the rising air bubbles. Anifoams destabilize air bubbles as the iron-rich concentrates fall to the bottom of the tank. Then the iron-rich concentrates become the raw materials for producing taconite pellets in the agglomerating process.

One claim to support special laws for taconite mining is that iron ore does not cause acid mine drainage from mining in sulfide ores. There are two reasons why this claim should be rejected. First, there have been serious acid mine drainage issues with at least two iron ore mines: the Dunka Pit in Minnesota (see chart above) where uncontrolled acid drainage has been discharging into streams leading to Birch Bay since the 1960’s. The Dober and Buck mines in Michigan killed aquatic life in 7 miles of the Iron River and damaged 10.5 miles of the Brule River. The Hanna Corporation was fined $368,000 for the damage there in 1997.9The second reason for rejecting this claim is that there is no science to back up assertions that the iron ore in the Penokee Range will not cause acid. WI State Geologist, Jamie Robertson commented about the acid potential for this ore, “We know very little about the details of the iron ore, of the immediately adjacent wasterock, of the sampling that was done years ago.”10 It is irresponsible to draft new laws that use this claim as fact without science to support it.The track record of regional taconite mining instructs Wisconsin on what should be expected if a mine is permitted here. Air and water quality in northern Wisconsin would be harmed by mining waste dust from tailings, waste rock, ore transportation and ore processing, which produce contaminants such as mercury, arsenic, and other heavy metals, sulfates, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides. These last two contaminants combine to help form acid rain, while high concentrations of sulfates harm native wild rice. In Minnesota, current and historic mining are a major source of sulfates to waterways.A Minnesota DNR report in 2003 found that taconite mining is the 2nd largest source of mercury emissions after coal power plants. The study also reported that no suitable technology has been found to curtail taconite mercury emissions.11 A

No reputable geologist would claim to know what is in the waste rock in the Gogebic Range until adequate core samples with analysis at a certified lab are done. Until that is done, all you are doing is making is assumptions and fear-mongering.

Is truth based on the materials balance really considered fear? The treatment of the waste stream , rumored to be in the 60% range, defines the profitability of the usable ore mass. If, because of hazardous or deleterious contents in the waste stream, profitability drops, that is fact necessary to outline before, rather than after startup. I was involved with a hardrock mine outside of Yuma, AZ that had $30M in permitting and exploration before it was allowed to move shovel one on property it was already mining, several hundred yards away. They were never allowed to move ounce one because of the hazards found in their assay surveys.

Your response seems rather convoluted however, if lots of toxins are found the area probably won't be mined. Remeber, new legsilation doesn't mean a mine will be permitted - it just gives a company a workable process.

Documentable facts frequently are complex, especially when you dig into actual materials balances, but you must already know that. So a ton of people are going to spend a lot pof time and money crafting a mining law that is most likely going to be customized for this property without knowing the ins and outs of the deposit? Ask the old Rexnord how well that worked for them with the Paradise Peak property in Nevada. They sold a service contract without reviewing the geology of the site, and lost $3M . Press on blithely, McDuff!

A Minnesota DNR report in 2003 found that taconite mining is the 2nd largest source of mercury emissions after coal power plants. The study also reported that no suitable technology has been found to curtail taconite mercury emissions.11 A taconite mine here will be a new source of mercury that will only further contaminate and poison our fish and wildlife when our lakes are already under advisories against consuming mercury contaminated fish.Transporting taconite ore causes pollution too. One example is the Duluth Missabe and Iron Range Railway in Minnesota which has been cited for multiple violations of hazardous waste restrictions and air quality and fined $138,770 for violations occurring in 2005 and 2009.If existing taconite mining cannot be counted on for examples of safe mining, what about GTAC’s track record? GTAC itself has never mined taconite before but GTAC’s owners- the Cline Group- operate coal mines in Illinois. Cline has been cited 25 times for violating water quality standards at 4 mines including 19 times at the Deer Run Mine which opened only 3 years ago.12.